All degrees of comparison of adjectives. Comparative and superlative adjectives

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Adjectives can have degrees of comparison: comparative and superlative.

The comparative degree of an adjective indicates that a characteristic characteristic of an object is manifested in it to a greater or lesser extent than in another object or objects:

Your briefcase is heavier than mine.
Your briefcase is heavier than mine.

The superlative degree indicates that in some one way the subject is superior to all other subjects:

Yerevan is the most ancient city in the world.

The comparative degree of adjectives has two forms:
simple and compound.

Simple form of comparative adjective
is formed by adding the suffixes -ee (-ee), -e, -she to the base of the initial form of the adjective:
kind - kinder, young - younger, thin - thinner.

The suffix of adjectives -k- (-ok-, -ek-) can be dropped if a simple
the comparative form is formed using the suffixes -e, -she.
In this case, there is also an alternation of consonants in the root:
low - lower, high - higher, thin - thinner.

Some adjectives have a comparative form with a different stem:

good is better, bad is worse, small is less.

The forms of the comparative degree in -ee(s), -e, -she can be joined by the prefix po-, which enhances or softens the degree of manifestation of the characteristic in one of the objects:

kinder (s), softer, thinner.

These forms, as well as forms like bolder, are characteristic of colloquial speech:

By nightfall the wind became stronger. The nights have become warmer.

The simple form of the comparative degree is unchangeable,
has no endings, but acts as a predicate in a sentence
or (less commonly) definitions:
Kind words are better than soft pie. Put on a warm coat.

The simple form of the comparative degree cannot be formed from all adjectives (timid, tall, businesslike, etc.).

The compound form of the comparative degree is formed by adding the words more or less to the initial form of the adjective:

fast - faster, loud - less loud.

The second word in the compound form of the comparative degree changes according to gender, case and number:

deeper snow, deeper river, along deeper rivers.

Adjectives in the compound form of the comparative degree in a sentence can be predicates and modifiers:
Our arguments are more subtle and profound. No one could give more convincing arguments.

When forming a compound comparative form
Avoid mistakes like more beautiful.

The superlative degree of adjectives has two forms:
simple and compound.

The simple superlative form of adjectives is formed by adding the suffixes -eysh- (-aysh-) to the base of the initial form of the adjective:
modest - the most modest, great - the greatest.

Before -aysh- there is an alternation of consonants:
strict - the strictest, quiet - the quietest.

The suffix -k- may appear: close - closest.

The simple form of the superlative degree changes according to gender, number,
cases. In a sentence it is a predicate or (less often) a definition:
The journey is most interesting. This was a story about an interesting journey.

The simple superlative form is most often used in literary speech.

ONLY QUALITATIVE ADJECTIVES HAVE DEGREES OF COMPARISON!

Qualitative adjectives differ in that they can denote a characteristic in varying degrees of its manifestation ( large – larger – largest). These forms are called degrees of comparison:

Comparative

Excellent

The paradigm of degrees of comparison also includes the adjective from which the forms of degrees of comparison are formed. The semantic basis of degrees of comparison is the quantitative assessment of the measure of the attribute. In the comparative degree paradigm, the original adjective is called the positive degree form.

Comparative degree (comparative) - denotes a quality that is found in one subject to a greater extent than in another, the name of which is put in the form of the gender or nominative case; the latter is preceded by a comparative conjunction How(truth is more valuable than gold).

Superlative (superlative) - denotes the highest degree of quality in a subject compared to another: most favorite writer; inflected like regular adjectives.

Comparative and superlative degrees can be expressed in simple (synthetic) and complex (analytical) forms.

comparative

The simple form of the comparative degree does not change by gender, number and case; and therefore you need to be able to distinguish it from the form of the comparative degree of the adverb. If a word of this type is syntactically related to a noun, then it will compare the degree of the adjective; if it is connected to a verb, then it will compare the degree of the adverb ( oak is stronger than birch– adj; he squeezed the handle tighter– adverb)

Comparative forms tend to be used in the position of a connective, i.e. in the role of a predicate, but can also be a definition.

Formed from the base of the original adjective using suffixes –ee(s) – bolder,whiter(productive way) or –e, -she – more expensive, richer(unproductive way).

From adjectives with a stem on k, g, x and some words based on d, t, st comparative degree is formed using the suffix -e(in this case, final consonant stems alternate with sibilants) ( loud - louder, quiet - quieter, steep - steeper). In adjectives on -OK And -To the producing stem is truncation, the remaining final consonant alternates with a sibilant or paired soft ( high - above, low - below).

Comparative forms with suffix –she single ( distant - further, early - earlier, long - longer).

From three adjectives the form is formed suppletive way ( small - less, good - better, bad - worse).

Comparative forms are not formed from adjectives that name characteristics that do not change according to degrees. Sometimes they are not formed in accordance with the usage and not the meaning ( dilapidated, alien, scanty).

The complex form of degrees of comparison is formed by adding the word more. Moreover, such combinations can also be formed with a short form ( faster, more red).

Superlative

The simple form of the superlative degree has features in its meaning: in addition to the above basic meaning of the superiority of quality in an object compared to other objects, this form can denote the highest, extreme degree of quality in any object without comparison with others. In other words, it can denote a relatively high degree of quality: worst enemy, kindest creature.

The simple form is formed by adding a suffix –eysh (-aysh). Moreover, it is not formed from all adjectives; usually it is not found in those lexemes from which the comparative form is not formed. It may also be absent in those forms that have the form of a comparative degree. These are qualitative adjectives with suffixes –ast-, -ist, as well as many words with suffixes - liv-, -chiv-, -k-(narrow - narrower, hairy - hairier, silent - more silent).

A complex form is formed by combining a qualitative adjective and the word most. It is not related to lexical restrictions: the reddest, the kindest, the narrowest.

For adjectives with suffixes –ovat-(-evat-) no superlative form is formed, because the value of the incompleteness of the attribute is incompatible with the value of the high degree of the attribute ( the most deaf, the most deaf).

The superlative form denotes the highest degree of quality. Unlike the comparative degree, the superlative forms cannot express a comparative assessment of the degree of a characteristic in the same subject and in two subjects.

The comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives are used very often in both oral and written speech. And this applies not only to the Russian language. Today we are interested in foreign vocabulary, namely comparative and superlative degrees in English. Nowadays, there is an increasing need to communicate in it. In order to speak correctly and to be correctly understood by the foreigners around you, you need to study the rules for the formation of these degrees.

What is an adjective

Before we talk about how comparatives and superlatives are formed in English, let's take a quick look at the adjective itself. What part of speech is this? In a nutshell, an adjective is used when we need to describe an object, person or process. Answering questions which one?, which one?, which one?, which ones?, this part of speech helps us not only describe them, but also compare them with each other, as well as declare the superiority of a particular object or character.

• We live in it big home for a very long time.
• Old the park looks much better better early in the morning.
• We are the youngest experts in this field.

The highlighted words clearly show what function the adjective performs in a sentence. This function is definition. And in this sense there is no difference between Russian and English.

Degrees of comparison: rule

Comparative and superlative adjectives are two of the three forms in which this part of speech can be used. There are three degrees of comparison:

• Positive - here the adjective has its initial form, for example: white, fat, tall, good, etc.
• Comparative - this form is used when we want to compare something with something, to show the advantage of something over something, for example: better, taller, fatter, smarter, smaller, etc.
• Excellent - we use this option when we want to show that someone or something has the highest degree of quality, for example: the highest, the most expensive, the best, the smallest, etc.

The choice of word option also depends on what idea you want to convey to your interlocutor. We will consider all possible rules for the formation of both degrees separately.

comparative

In English grammar, there are rules by which both comparative and superlative degrees are formed. Exercises to check your understanding of this topic are aimed at ensuring that you correctly form one degree or another with any adjective. First, let's look at the comparative form. In order to form a comparative form from any adjective, you need to follow these rules:

• If the word is one-syllable or two-syllable, but the stress falls on the first syllable, then we add the suffix “er” to it: smart (smart) - smarter (smarter); hard (heavy) - harder (heavier).

• If a word ends in “e”, one letter “r” is added to it: large (large) - larger (more); polite (polite) - politer (more polite).

• If a one-syllable word ends with a consonant letter preceded by a short vowel sound, then the last letter is doubled when a suffix is ​​added: big (large) - bigger (more); hot (hot) - hotter (hotter).

• If the adjective ends with the letter “y”, when adding a suffix it changes to “i”: noisy (noisy) - noisier (noisier); easy (simple) - easier (simpler).

• If an adjective has more than two syllables, no suffix is ​​added to it. We put before this adjective the comparative adverb “more”, which translated into Russian means “more”: beautiful (beautiful) - more beautiful (more beautiful); interesting (interesting) - more interesting (more interesting).

• If you need to indicate that the quality is lower than that of another object, then instead of the above-mentioned word we take “less”, translated as “less”: beautiful (beautiful) - less beautiful (less beautiful); interesting (interesting) - less interesting (less interesting).

Thus, we can easily form sentences where we want to compare the qualities of different objects.

Superlative

Comparatives and superlatives are formed very easily by Russian-speaking users, since the concept of comparison and superiority is very similar to what we know in Russian. So, to form the last degree, we need to apply concepts such as “most, most/least”. But here there are certain rules that need to be followed:

• If the word has one syllable, we add the suffix “est” to such an adjective, and the article “the” will appear before the newly formed word: smart (smart) - the smartest (smartest); hard (heavy) - the hardest (the heaviest).

• If there is an ending “e” at the end of a word, we will only use the suffix “st”: large (large) - the largest (largest); polite (polite) - the politest (the most polite).

• If a word ends with a consonant preceded by a short vowel sound, we double the last letter in the letter. This does not manifest itself in speech: big (large) - the biggest (largest); hot (hot) - the hottest (hottest).

• If the last place in a word is the letter y, when adding a suffix we change it to i: noisy (noisy) - the noisiest (noisiest); easy (simple) - the easiest (simplest).

• For long polysyllabic words there is another way of formation. We put the adverb “the most” in front of the word, which translates as “the most, the most, the most”: beautiful (beautiful) - the most beautiful (the most beautiful); interesting (interesting) - the most interesting (the most interesting).

• If you need to indicate that the quality is the lowest, then instead of the word “most,” we take “the least,” translated as “the least”: beautiful (beautiful) - the least beautiful (least beautiful); interesting (interesting) - the least interesting (least interesting).

• There are words consisting of two components. In this case, we also put the indicated adverbs in front of them: easy-going (sociable) - more easy-going (more sociable) - the most easy-going (the most sociable); easy-going (sociable) - less easy-going (less sociable) - the least easy-going (least sociable).

Comparative and superlative degrees: words of exception

There are words that, despite all the existing rules, form degrees in their own way. Such words must be learned by heart. The comparative and superlative degrees of such words are included in a separate table.

When using a word consisting of two components, one of which is an exception word, you need to use exactly its form: good-looking (beautiful) - better-looking (more beautiful) - the best-looking (the most beautiful).

Set phrases

Both the comparative degree and the superlative degree are used in sentences as part of special constructions. Most often these are the following options:

• The construction “the... the...”. The more I read, the more I know. The more I read, the more I know.
• The construction “as... as...”. He is as tall as his brother. He is as tall as his brother.
• The construction “not so... as...”. She is not so fit as me. She's not as slim as me.

These are the most common variants of sentences in which we use the mentioned degrees of comparison.

Qualitative adjectiveshave degrees of comparison. They express a greater or lesser degree of quality in a given item compared to another item.
For example: (My house is more beautiful than your house). sometimes the comparison is made within the same object (increase or decrease) at different periods of its development, i.e. at the present moment, compared to his past state.
For example: (Demand for the product has become higher than last year).

Adjectives have two degrees of comparison:
comparative;
excellent.

1.Comparative degree of adjective means that some characteristic is manifested to a greater or lesser extent in one object than in another.
For example: I'm happier than you. Your briefcase is heavier than mine. My dog ​​is smarter than yours.

The comparative degree is:
A) simple
B) difficult

A) Simple comparative degree formed using suffixes:
“her”(s): For example: handsome - more beautiful, smart - smarter, cold - colder;
"e" (with or without alternation of the last consonant of the base):
For example: big - larger, short - shorter, sweet - sweeter;
“she”: For example: old – older, young – younger.
Sometimes a different root is used to form the comparative degree of an adjective.
Good is better, bad is worse, small is smaller.
Adjectives in the simple comparative form do not change and have no endings!

B) Complex comparative degree is formed from the full form of the positive degree of the adjective using the particles more and less.
Big – more (less) big, beautiful – more (less) beautiful.

2) Superlative adjectives.
The superlative degree shows that some attribute is manifested in a given object to the greatest extent, compared with the same attribute in other similar objects.
This is my best game; He is the smartest boy in the class.

Superlatives are:
A) simple
B) difficult
The superlative degree of an adjective can change according to gender, number and case.
(We have approached the highest mountains).

A) Simple superlative is formed using the suffixes “eysh”, “aysh”.
For example: The stupidest, the deepest, the rarest, the closest
Sometimes a different root is used to form the superlative degree of an adjective.
For example: Good is the best, bad is the worst.
B) Complex superlative is formed from the full form of the positive degree of the adjective using the particles most, most and least.
For example: Small - the smallest, the smallest, the least small, smart - the most intelligent, the most intelligent, the least intelligent.

Superlative adjectives, like full forms of positive adjectives, change according to gender, number and case.

Publication date: 01/28/2012 17:58 UTC

• Morphological analysis of the adjective in Russian.
• Full and short forms of adjectives. Declension and spelling of case forms of adjectives in Russian.
• The concept of an adjective. Morphological features of adjectives. Classes of adjectives in Russian.

Adjectives in Russian. They are indispensable when it is necessary to compare one characteristic of an object or phenomenon with another. Let's try to understand the intricacies of this topic.

Adjective

Before you start studying the topic “Degrees of comparison of adjectives in the Russian language,” you need to find out how this part of speech differs from all others. And it really has a lot of features. It is difficult to imagine our speech without this colorful, graceful group. With the help of adjectives we describe appearance (short, handsome, homely), character (kind, grumpy, difficult), age (young, elderly). However, not only human qualities, but also much more can be represented with their help. For example, not a single work of art is complete without the use of adjectives. And even more so the lyrics. Thanks to this part of speech, stories, poems, novels acquire expressiveness and imagery.

Helps to form such artistic means as epithets (dazzling beauty, wonderful morning), metaphors - heart of stone), comparisons (looks like the happiest; the sky is like azure watercolor).

A distinctive feature of adjectives is their ability to form short forms. The latter always play the role of a predicate in a sentence, which gives this part of speech another advantage - it gives dynamics to any text.

What is a degree?

Anyone who studies the Russian language faces this question. Degrees of comparison of adjectives are a characteristic that helps to compare one object with another.

For example, there are two balls in front of us. They are exactly the same, only one of them is slightly different in size. We need to compare them with each other and draw a conclusion: one ball more another. We can approach this issue from the other side and note that one ball less than the second one. In both cases, we used a word that characterizes the degree of comparison of these objects.

Now let’s add to our items another one of the same kind, but much larger. We need to differentiate it from others. How will we do this? Of course, use comparison. Only now you need to indicate that the third ball is immediately different from the first and second. In this case we will say that he biggest among them.

This is precisely why we need them. We will describe each of their types in detail below.

comparative

When we have an adjective in front of us that no one compares with anything, it is characterized by a positive degree. But if one object needs to be compared with another, then we will use the comparative degree of the adjective.

It has two subspecies. The first is called simple, or suffixal. This means that the word used in this degree has a suffix characteristic of it.

For example: This table chic. Neighbor's table more luxurious ours.

In the first case, the adjective is in the positive degree. In the second, the suffix “ee” was added to it and with the help of this they compared one table with another.

The second type is the composite degree. As the name suggests, its formation occurs not with the help of morphemes, but with the use of special words.

For example: This project is very successful. The last project was more successful.

The word "more" helps us compare one project to another.

Another example: We received valuable information. The previous one turned out to be less valuable.

Now, using the word “less”, we indicated a feature that manifested itself to a lesser extent.

It is worth remembering that degrees of comparison of adjectives in the Russian language, regardless of variety, are formed only from Neither possessive nor relative have this ability.

Superlative

In some situations, we need not just to compare one object or phenomenon with another, but to distinguish it from all others similar to it. And here the degrees of comparison of adjectives in Russian will also come to our aid. This degree of comparison is called excellent, which already implies the highest limit.

Like comparative, it has two varieties.

Using suffixes, a simple degree is formed.

For example: Ivanov strongest of all the athletes on the team.

The word “strong” with the suffix -eysh- formed and distinguished the athlete Ivanov from other members of the national team.

Next example: New tulle the most beautiful from those that I have seen.

In this case, the auxiliary word “most” gave this sentence the same meaning as in the previous example. This form is called compound.

Sometimes it can be accompanied by the prefix nai- for emphasis: the most beautiful.

Peculiarities

In some cases, forms of degrees of comparison of adjectives have exceptions.

These include the words “good” and “bad.” When we begin to compare objects with their help, we will encounter some difficulties.

For example: We held good evening. Let's try to form a chain of degrees of comparison.

In a simple comparative we will see that the word “good” does not exist. It is replaced by “better.” And for the word “bad” we’ll choose “worse”. This phenomenon in Russian is called suppletivism of fundamentals. This means that the word needs to change radically to form a comparative degree.

Conclusion

Thus, we managed to find out not only the basics, but also some nuances on the topic “Degrees of comparison of adjectives in the Russian language.”

Now this rule will not cause you any difficulties, since it is not at all complicated.